Who are these Critters you speak of?

Friday, December 16, 2011

It finally happened after 2 1/2 years. CarCar got her first haircut. As with the other two she got her haircut at Rinse and Repeat and as usual Suzi did an awesome job. All three Critters got their haircut, luckily Rian had some help with the ever-wonderful Crittersitter Amy.

We took the kids to see this last night. While the video is cool it really does not do it justice. If any of you all like in Tallahassee I would recommend heading over to Southwood to see this. Its on Mossy Creek Lane (Right by the Southwood Clubhouse).

My only complaint is it doesn't seem to recognize the Coast Guard, although I am not sure if they have a mainstream theme/song.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we all headed down to Ponce de Leon Springs State Park. While it houses the supposed 'Fountain of Youth,' these days it is better known for the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Bakery. Here you get to cook your own pancakes on griddles built into the tables. The pancakes were pretty good and it was pretty funny seeing the kids try to get in on the action.

After breakfast Grandma B, Grandma Kate, the Critters, Rian, and I decided to take the boat tour. We read on the sign that there were river otters on the boat tour and Carson about flipped her lid. I am still not sure how a 2 1/2 year old becomes so obsessed with river otters. To add to the excitement Grandma B bought CarCar a stuffed otter (now named 'Otter,' inventive, I know), Haddie a manatee (named 'Manny'), and Reese a raccoon (name 'Haa-coon'). After the kids ran around the springs and playground for a bit we jumped on the boat. Unfortunately, river otters are early morning creatures so there was little chance we were going to see them. We did get to see a ton of birds and an alligator. Haddie kept yelling 'Gator bait' the entire boat ride. Unfortunately, for the Gators of Florida, they had been scalped by the FSU defense the night before. Notice I said defense, that was a painful game to watch if you enjoy offensive football. The Critters had a great time on the boat, but were definitely ready to get off when we reached the dock.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

This post is extremely behind the times, but I wanted to wait until I had finished Brother's headboard to publish.

When splitting up the Critters we kept Brother in the old nursery. Unfortunately, the striped walls did not seem to appropriate for a toddler boy room. We decided to got with a nautical themed room in honor of Grandpa Dave, who spent many a year in the United States Coast Guard.

Let me begin by telling you what a task it was to paint that room. It took two coats of primer and two heavy coats of paint, four coats on what was the striped wall. We went with Sherman Williams Nantucket Dune. Luckily, they were having a 40% off sale around the time we were getting ready to paint.

After tackling the walls I had to take care of the dresser. We repurposed the old white guest bedroom dresser. I removed the attached mirror and gave it a good sanding. We chose True Navy by Glidden. It is a very (I repeat very) thick gel/oil based paint. (Note: Make sure to have paint thinner or mineral spirits on hand before you start to paint so you don't have to head to Home Depot with blue smurf hands. As I found out water does not remove this paint from your hands, it actually just makes it worse.) To finish the dresser I found nautical looking rope knobs called monkey fists on etsy.

Finally, we couldn't find a headboard that we really liked. After scouring the normal stores nothing seemed to match what we envisioned. Leave it up to Grandma B to find plans so we could build a headboard. Grandma B and I built the headboard in 3short hours when she was up for a visit. We later chose to paint it in a striped pattern to replicate a buoy. I used the same Glidden paint that I used for the dresser, this time is was True Red and Classic White. Building seemed to be the easy part compared to the taping and painting. It took quite a few coats to get the look I wanted.

All in all we are extremely happy with how Brother's room turned out. There are still a few things that the room needs but nothing that he can't live without for a while. I think he is just happy that he now has his own space.

Here are some pics:

Vintage oars from The Tin Shed (Apalachicola, FL), Linens and Pillows from The Land of Nod, and Curtains from Pottery Barn Kids.

Note the United States Coast Guard pillow.

Repurposed dresser, dresser knobs from Etsy, buoys from The Tin Shed, Nautical Knot shadow box from The Tin Shed, Buoy Lamp from The Land of Nod.

Close-up of dresser knob pulls.

Close up of vintage buoys.

Repurposed wicker toy box and rug from Pottery Barn Kids, coat rack from The Land of Nod.